REPORT: I OUT OF THE FRYING PAN INTO THE FIRE Children taken away from trouble home to alien lands for sale

Transcription

1 REPORT: I OUT OF THE FRYING PAN INTO THE FIRE Children taken away from trouble home to alien lands for sale uman-trafficking H is taken as one of the most harsh crime committed by violating basic human rights, as defined by the international institutions. It is believed that human-trafficking is not only confined to individual countries but also is becoming an issue growing into a international one. Identical with and even worse than human-trafficking in its generality, child-trafficking also is a worldly issue - a serious violations on human rights. Stricter and stricter policy of protecting against migrant workers, adopted by the countries that both legally and illegally receive those workers coming in is the main cause for women- and child-trafficking growth in an increasingly larger scale. Again, after the border-trade has been set into operation in the Greater Mekhong sub-region, trafficking of women and children has grown at an increasingly faster. Prompted by the economic difficulties, scanty employment and political problem, people want to find work in neighboring countries and other economically advanced countries. As women and children want to emigrate to find work in Thailand, children and young women from Nepal in the cities of India, women and children from Thailand in Hong Kong, Japan and other developed countries, and those from Cambodia and Lao in Thailand, they are subjected to human-trafficking. According to Outgoing US government, a statement released by the US government, it is estimated that 2 million people annually are set into human-trafficking. In regard to Burma, it is said that annually over ten thousand children and women are sold into Thailand. It is because people of Burma have face economic bankruptcy and political crisis since military junta has reined political power in REPORT I: Out Of The Frying Pan Into The Tire Children taken away from trouble home to alien lands for sale. NEWS: Mon Women s Organization Celebrates Ffirst Mon Women s Day REPORT: II HIV/AIDS: Unsolved Problem in Burma I. HIV/AIDS infecting rate increasing in Burma II. Role of civil society in prevention ACTIVITIES: International Women s Day celebrated on Thai-Burma border Children and Women in the gambling place, which was allowed by regime s authorities in Burma Mon Women s Day Joint Statement

2 Message From Woman And Child Rights Project (Southern Part of Burma) Woman and Child Right Project (WCRP) is an cooperative activity with Human Rights Foundation of Monland (HURFOM) and it has main activity in collecting the information related to the human rights violations of women and children in southern part of Burma (Myanmar). It also aims to get world community s awareness for the protection of the rights of women and children. The Burma s military regime, State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), ratified the Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in 1997 to guarantee the rights to women in Burma. Similarly the regime also ratified Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in 1991 to guarantee the rights to children in Burma. However, the regime has failed in their implementation of the conventional rights and the human rights violations against women and children systematically. WCRP is dedicated to inform the world community what happens to general women and children in Burma and plans to educate them to know about their rights as the following objectives. 1. To monitor and protect the woman and child rights, by collecting information about their real situation by referencing the CEDAW and CRC, and distribute information to world community. 2. To strengthen women and chil dren community, by providing on their rights accordingly to CEDAW and CRC ratified by regime and encourage them to participate in the struggle in the protection of their own rights. People in Burma come to be under the slavery system of military ruling with underpaid income. They suffer their rights being severely violated as slaves in debt; their daily life is at risk from illegal confinement, forced labor, rape, physical harassment, unlawful execution, and exposure to HIV/AIDS. Pushed by such a setting, thousands of children follow human trafficker s temptation and are sold in neighboring countries such as Thailand and Malaysia as domestic workers, factory workers, agricultural laborers, beggars, waiters/ waitresses, wives and prostitutes etc. It can be said that most of the children trafficked into Thailand, China and Malaysia are ethnic people such as Mon, Shan, Kachin, Chin. I. Situations forcing children to be trafficked Burma is in a vicious cycle of political miseries, an overwhelming majority of people are facing poverty and unemployment or underemployment. In mid such situations, that the military junta and its stooges impose heavy and multifarious taxes, demand corvee (forced labor), confiscate farmlands and plantations, burn up villages accused of being supportive to rebels, torture innocent people who are believed to contact with rebellious armed groups, rape, and use vulnerable women and girls as sex-slaves, forces a great deal of women and children into human-trafficking field. Speedily rising prices of consumer goods, and highly cost education and healthcare make another factor for people to be plunged into human-trafficking. A. Immigrating into other countries as people are unable to pay taxes imposed by the government Since the military has been ruling, tax-rates for farmland, garden and plantation has increased. Formerly, tax per acre of farmland was rated 3 to 6 baskets of paddy (1 basket of paddy weights 75lbs) and now, up to 12 to 16 baskets. Annual cost for producing paddy rice, that includes costs for labor such as uprooting, replanting, harvesting etc. to be paid in advance by a farmer before selling the harvest is not cheap. Yet, government loans are in a very few amount but requiring the debtors to repay them with interest. Burdened with production cost, the farmers cannot afford to use fertilizer and have the result that their farms per acre yield decreases year by year and at the end of harvest they could not pay the government tax. On the other hand, the price for the fruit of their love labor is lowering with the changing years. If unable to pay taxes with paddy rice, they are at risk from being deprived of their tilling lands, arrested to detain, and threatened through assorted means available. Farmers have their family members, that is only young men and girls, who want to support their families by working outside home (in Thailand) So that their land is successively inherited from their ancestors can not be taken away and they themselves not be arrested. These young women and children, in such a situation, fall into human-trafficking corner. In an interview with a boy, he said: My name is Maung _, aged 17 and from Mudon Town. Our farm, in previous year, could not yield any harvest for the plants had died away when overwhelmed by torrential floods. Therefore we could not sell our quota of paddy to the government purchasing deposit and the officers from the deposit came and not only frightened that our farmland would be seized from our family, but also arrest my mother away. We need money to have 2

3 our quota of paddy to be fully sold. I have left home to get here as people said money could be sought by working in Thailand. B. Being denied right to schooling Soaring cost of schooling is associated with child-trafficking. Only 7% of government budget is spent for education and it is obvious that education sector is paid little attention to. Children, thus, are denied their right of having education and absorbed more into human-trafficking. Parents in Burma, mostly, can provide education to their children up to the primary school level, and some even do not afford to do so. Despite the fact that the government had singed the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), it starkly violates free-education right. Traditionally, in a family elder sons or daughters tend to seek earning willingly as to help their parents afford their younger brothers and sisters schooling. I m 16. I have 4 siblings in my family altogether. I attended 9 th Grade. Our parents can no longer afford our schooling. So I left school in order to support my younger brothers and sisters for continuing their schooling. I want to seek a well-paid job, a girl said. What kind of job with a fairly-good income, for a 9 th Grade student (girl), can be obtainable outside home? There is little opportunity to find a job. Therefore, it strengthens human-trafficking, compelling young people destined to support their parents, and younger sisters and brothers to do any job available by what ever means. Those who fall into human-trafficking network include not only young girls, who are forced to leave school for supporting their families, but also girls and boys trying to continue their schooling further. C. Health Not only the cost of schooling is going up higher and higher but also that of healthcare. According to a statement of WHO, the government of Burma spent only 6.5% of the Budget for public health. In spite of being called hospital. Once a patient there, it is compulsory to pay for hospital funds, bed, medicines and caring service, and in particular, medicines are to be purchased at high prices. In this setting, if any parental members of a family come to get a chronic disease, the family income no longer will be enough for household spending. Seeking jobs outside home so as to provide medical treatment to the parents makes young people entangle in the human-trafficking trap. I m from Za-tha-byin village, Pa-an Township. My mother is living with breast cancer and in need of a lot of money to have the disease cured, said a young woman who got to Three-pagoda border areas. D. Burning up the villages and confiscating the farmland A report, No Land to Farm produced by Human Rights Foundation of Monland (HURFOM) stated that over 2000 acres of farmland were confiscated by the military. 50% of the population in Mon State makes a living through their farmlands, gardens and plantations. For extensive and permanent deployment of its troops and construction of gas-pipe line, cultivatable lands were seized in large scale by the military. In addition to this, farmers and gardeners were deprived of land when development projects such as roads or dam construction were put into action. Local people, thus are compelled to face unemployment problems. Next to this is that being accused of making contact with armed rebellion group, people from the villages such as Khaw Zar, Ka-byar Gyi, Kabyar Wa, Koe Mai, Warr Gwe. in southern Ye Township were beaten and tortured in custody, frightened by various means and had their villages burnt up, resulting in homelessness and unemployment. These happenings reinforced, on their parts, the bulk of human trafficking. I am from Warr-Gwe Village, and aged 15. Together with me, there are my parents and younger sister. Accusing our people of having Mon rebellion armed group arriving our village, the military arrested, beat the villagers and torched the village to be totally destroyed. So we have no other choices but to leave our village for this area, said a girl fleeing her village to Thai-Burma border area. 3

4 E. Setting people to forced labor Over Burma, forced labor is still prevailing up to now. In our village, we are still forced to (unpaid) labor with no time to do our own work. We repeatedly have to give labor all the time, said a woman from southern Ye Township. According to her explanation, in southern Ye Township, village people were summoned not only to give labor to road construction and building of schools, clear bushes nearby the roadsides, but also to collect firewood, cook meals, feed pigs and, under the military s order, pick fruits such as betel nut, durians etc from the gardens owned by the individual villagers for the troops of military positions while the owners themselves have no rights to collect their own fruits at will. Looking at this scenario, it is clear that rural people are forced into labor in various ways instantly getting into military personnel s savage mind. Such settings lead rural folks not to be able to do their own work and only to be constantly subjugated under unpaid labor. Consequently and simply, they could no longer make even a scraping of life and, tend to immigrate into neighboring countries for working to struggle for survival. Situated in this way, they are exposed to be induced by the human-dealers to be sold into Thailand and other neighboring illegal labor-markets. Among those sold, young women and children make the bulk of overall commodity. F. Sexually harassed victims are prone to be cast into human-trafficking field The military positioned in our village, summons women to do chores for them in their fortified post. None dare to be absent from them, said a woman, from Koe Mai Village, Ye Bu Township, arriving at a refugee camp. The soldiers, in Southern Ye Township and Ye Byu Township, call young villagewomen to come into their presence and make them not only cook meals, fetch water, collect firewood, feed pigs, but also serve meals and make beds for the officers and sing karaoke songs. From there on next step forward, young women are sexually violated by the military men. In a report, Catwalk to the barrack, issued by Mon Woman and Child Rights Project, it is revealed that young women and girls from the villages namely A boy is carrying a rubber compound sheets in helping their parents Khaw-za, Toe-tat Ywa thit, Yin-ye, Yin-dein, Kabyawa, The-kon, Kyone-kanya, Mi-htaw-hla-kalay, Mihtaw-hla-gyi, Magyi, Kyauk-I, Tayoke-taung, Shwe-hinda Ywa-thit, Khaw-za-chaung-wa. Southern Ye Township were ordered by the military to act as catwalk entertainment, and to do unpaid work in the military camp. The military s complements are concluded with sexually violating these vulnerable young women. The report also states that rural women are not only forced to do chores in the military outposts but also taken along the route the military columns march to be used as things for sexual harassment. So ashamed of having been sexually harassed that the victims move to the borderline areas and other villages or townships to hide themselves away, through traffickers, to get into to Thailand. Most of them are deceived to be unpaid while others are sold off to the brothels. It is found that those who have to leave, with a blind eye, their whole lives in the trust of human-traffickers due to SPDC military s sexual harassment are not only Mon young women but also Shan, Kachin, Chin and other ethnic ones. G. Emigrant workers, espeically young women are tempted into human-trafficking to be sold off. Many people including not only men but also women and children of almost every village and township in Burma, near the borderline immigrate into neighboring countries for working there. In our village, things no longer look like the previous one. Living standards becomes higher that many people have now large houses, motorcycles, generators etc. To obtain 4

5 this standard of living they have their sons and daughters work in foreign countries and send money home to them, said a woman from Kwan-ta Village, Mudon Township. Similarly, almost every village in Mon State, come to have higher standard of living. However, from wider and penetrating point of view, it is obvious that rural people can be easily give way to temptation by human-traffickers. Those who had emigrated into neighboring countries to seek earnings never mention the situations with regard to the workplace, accommodation and security while working there. An migrant woman-worker who came back to her native village related: When worked in Thailand, I earned 4,000 Baht per month with no need to pay for daily meals. Working was very easy. Living standard also was very high there. Those migrant workers in Thailand have never disclosed how they had to work hard in a state of exhaustion in the workplace such as garment factory, fish cannery and shrimp-processing industry, nor explained how they had run away, at mid-night or dawn, from being arrested by Thai authorities, into muddy bushes or paddy-fields and how their colleagues died of fleeing; how they had been unfairly treated unpaid after working hard and tiresomely; how they had been tormented and harassed by their employers. In these settings, seeing only that some people have an adequate living by virtue of money sent by their children or husbands who are working in neighboring countries, a state of mind happens to most village people that they also should have their children immigrate there for working to get money. At present, when only a meager living can be made because of scanty employment opportunity and low-paid wages, it is a reason for why people in Burma tend to immigrate into Thailand to work for seeking a good earning. Accordingly, there are a great deal of young women who intended to seek earning for meeting the costs of education and health and taxes, and yielded to the temptation to be sold off in Thailand. When they wake up to the reality, they have got into ruthless slavery from which they never could struggle out by themselves. II. Human-trafficker s persuasion Every village and township in Burma has human-traffickers. Children and young women from Mon State, Karen State, Shan State and Chinn State are sold off are sold off mostly into Thailand, China as housemaids, nannies, waiters/waitresses, prostitutes, beggars and wives. In the villages of Ye Township, Mon State, human-traffickers are regarded by the villagers as their benefactors because they want to flee various oppressions and threatening of the military and at the same time, human-traffickers are those able to conjure up an outlet for them. Consequently, they can be easily induced by the traffickers to immigrate into Thailand. The traffickers take children and young women as their main targets. According to them, children and women can get jobs more easily and be paid more wages. A woman, aged over 30, from Zar-tha-byin Village, Kaw-ka-reik Township, Karen State said, My sister is only 14 but she is strapping and looks older. After working in Thailand for about one year, she has sent about 1,000,000 kyat to me. Now, in spite of that her younger sister is still only 12 years old, she urged me to let her take the younger one together with her. She said that she felt comfortable with her job. Human-dealers said convinced village-women and children that they could earn a lot of money by doing light and easy work with a high standard of accommodation; they could find a job as soon as they get into Thailand; they do not need to be worried about money for traveling. The dealers also promise that they would help them get into anywhere they want to go and find any job they desire to do. Women and children, thus, believe in the dealers persuasive offerings and fall into trouble in one way or another; and some of them are sold off (out of the frying pan into the fire!). 5

6 News Mon Women s Organization celebrates first Mon Women s Day The Mon Women s Organization held the first Mon Women s Day in Nyi Sar camp. Over 120 people joined the celebration including Mon Women from overseas. The Mon Women s Day was held the day on the birthday of the Mon Queen Mi Joa Bu (Shin Sawbu) which falls on the waxing month of Dabaung 12 (Burmese month). The Mon Women s Day was held to honour the queen. This year March 10 is Dabaung 12th. The aims and objectives of the Mon Women s Organization while holding the Mon Women s Day are: To raise the knowledge level and empower women in the community To encourage and train women involved in leading community activities To cooperate with International Women s Organizations, to fight against discrimination and torture of women and usher in peace To educate women involved in struggling for peace, freedom and justice Mon Women s Organization celebrates first Mon Women s Day In the morning, they donated food to monks and the celebrations were continued by Mon Women s Affair. It will be held over two days and the issues to be discussed will include women and politics, leadership, education, peace, justice, independence, health and development. In the Mon Women s Day and Mon Women s Affair, representatives from various organization joined the ceremony. Woman and Child Rights Project (WCRP) Southern Burma, which is based in Thailand, also held a small Mon Women s Day ceremony in honour of the Queen of Mi Joa Bu in Sangkhlaburi. Mon Women s Day was conceived three years ago by the Mon Women s Organization in USA. This year, the whole Mon Women s Organization held the Mon Women s Day. Mi Joa Bu (Shin Sawbu) was famous for ruling the country well and embellished the Shwe Dagon Pagoda claims the History of Rangoon. She was a daughter of a famous Mon King and hero Rai Jai Dha Rai who ruled Hongsarwatoi. III. On the way into Thailand The journey from the Burma side of the border into Thailand takes mostly 4 days and 3 nights passing through the checkpoints. The traffickers bribe their ways past the guards and slip their live goods into Thailand. This can be done only in the normal conditions. However, in difficult conditions or when security measures are tightly ensured by the authorities of each side, migrant people have to wait around in a place close to the border for about 2 weeks to one month. On their journey they have to pass through mountains and forests, rivers and streams. Sometimes, to have some checkpoints surreptitiously past, they need to make their way by foot, and sleep in the jungle with insect-bites. When they arrive at Three-Pagoda, Myawaddy, Kaw Thaung and such areas, the migrant workers are smuggled into Thailand by their dealers. 6

7 Activities Mon Women s Day Joint Statement By Mon Women s Organization of America & Mon Women s Organization (Canada) 12th day of 12th Month Lunar Calendar (March 10, 2006) Today, Mon women?s organizations inside Burma as well as Mon women?s organizations in exile are marking the Mon Women?s Day, which is celebrated on the birth date of a famous Mon queen Mi Jao Bu (12th day of 12th Month Lunar Calendar) in honor of her ability, grace, and truthfulness that brought the Honsawaddy Mon kingdom to the glory of peace and prosperity. Queen Mi Jao Bu was the only queen reigned in the history of Burma. On this occasion, we would like to take the opportunity to express our deep concerns about the widespread sexual violence and sexual slavery, committed by Burmese soldiers and commanders, against ethnic women in Burma. Burmese military regime is using systematic sexual violence against ethnic women as a weapon of war against Burma?s ethnic nationalities. Refugees International has confirmed in its report titled No Safe Place that sexual violence is systematic and committed both by officers and lower ranking soldiers, and rape is widespread and is affecting women from many ethnic groups including Mon, Karen, Karenni, and Shan. Burmese army troops have committed crimes against humanity. Local human rights groups have documented that in some incidents women and girls are raped while their family members are forced to watch at gunpoint. Rape survivors and their families have suffered from such serious trauma that some end up committing suicide. Some have fled to the Thailand-Burma border areas where they face various hardships. Sadly, as of this time, no mechanisms that will protect rape survivors from further risk are in place inside Burma or the border areas. Those who raise the issue of rape and sexual violence have been threatened and harassed by the military authorities. We are deeply concerned about the insecurity for rape survivors, their families, and their communities. On the occasion of Mon Women?s Day, we appeal to international community: To use all possible means to pressure the Burmese military regime to end all forms of human rights violations; To urgently take all necessary measures to ensure protection and humanitarian assistance to victims of sexual violence in Burma; And, we call for the Burmese military regime: To immediately stop human rights abuses, particularly sexual violence against ethnic women and girls: To immediately withdraw all its troops from ethnic areas; and To immediately begin tripartite dialogue with the National League for Democracy (NLD) and representatives of ethnic nationalities and begin the process the process of national reconciliation. Looked at this, it is found that every trafficking gang includes people not only from Burma but also from Thailand. Some interview accounts came out from the migrant workers are: I m from Kwan-ta Village, I came here through Three-Pagoda-Pass route. On the way there are many checkpoints. From Mudon to Thanbyuzayat there are only 2 check-points, but from Thanbyuzayat to Three Pagoda Pass, so many. When we arrived to the Three Pagoda Pass, we have to go to emigration office to bribe 500 Baht. For the next checkpoints we didn t need to do so, but the man who had taken us did. I m from Taung-bon village (in Ye Township). I also also arrived here through Three Pagoda Pass route, but have no dealer. At then in the checkpoints I explained that I was visiting to my relatives, so they interrogated me a lot. Some checkpoint s soldiers demanded money, but I didn t give. It s, however, necessary to give 500 Baht to the emigration office at Three Pagoda Pass town. 7

8 I m from Toe-tet-ywa-thit Village. I had to give 12,000 Baht to the dealer to be smuggled into Bangkok from Three Pagoda Pass Town. I arrived here through the Mae Sot route. At the checkpoints we were called to get down into the sentry posts and asked various questions in interrogation. The woman who had taken us didn t make any intervention. She pretended that she hadn t taken us. We spent 4 nights in the jungle. Thus, the people who immigrated into Thailand for working explained their different experiences. IV. SPDC s response to human trafficking The ruling military regime in Burma, State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), on 14 th September, 2005 declared a law prohibiting human-trafficking. According to this law, human-trafficking means that if a person, with or without other person or persons agreement, in order to make an exploitation, rounds up, transports, sells buys hires, borrows and shelters or receives people by doing the following acts, he/she commits human-trafficking, that includes the following practices: 1. threatening, forcing or coercing by other means; 2. persuading; 3. lying; 4. deceiving; 5. misusing the authority or condition in which it is difficult to make a living; and 6. giving money or benefit that could control a person in order to have an agreement or accepting it. If a person, in order to gain any benefit regarding money or property, violates this law by formally organizing three or more persons, he/she shall be, in accordance with the existing law, punished by 4 years or more imprisonment. These laws are adopted with the following aims: 1. To protect especially women, children and young people; 2. To effectively and quickly investigate and find out the traffickers and thus, to prohibit the trafficking from happening further by setting effective and serious punishment in accordance with the existing laws; 3. To effectively accomplish the tasks of saving, recovering, protecting rehabilitating the victims of. Ironically, the traffickers are those associated with Thai or Burmese authorities. People trafficked into Thailand are aged from 14 years old, and the traffickers who take them into Thailand have made a contact with and bribed Thai authorities. Consider the fact that the traffickers have to bribe so much money as to be illegally allowed to pass the checkpoints, it is obvious that the authorities also are involved in human-trafficking. In fact, they are only people who lead a life of legislation chicanery. The Myanmar National Committee on Women s Affairs conducts training on human-trafficking tantamounts merely a superficial creation for the sake of media, and also has no effectiveness because the leaders of the organization have no sincere intention nor power to blockade the leakage opened by the corrupt officials in prohibiting human-trafficking that has come out as a sprout from the riotous economy. Also is because the victims of trafficking mostly are only children and women from the rural areas. V. Conclusion In Burma, human-trafficking is a problem that has chronically happened involving only children and women as its main part. Look at the problem with a penetrating eye, it can be clearly seen that they are not the ones, who, in their real nature, do not have a willingness to immigrate into other countries to do work for seeking earnings.; they have no other choice than doing so because of rare availability of employment, low-paid wages, high cost of schooling and various kinds of human rights violation. Though the Burmese military junta signed the Convention on Woman and Child rights, it has never followed the determinations of these rights, nor the decrees they themselves had declared. This government is sort of referable to a saying that goes: He doesn t take the medicine he dispenses. How could such a corrupt government solve human-trafficking problem that has come out from (as mentioned above) the riotous economy, and complicatedly intertwined with other problems into an inextricable knot? Since military ruling in 1962, the country s economy has speedily deteriorated so far from being cured. 8

9 Only when this economy has been changed by political means, and developed in a healthy way, child-trafficking could be eliminated. Or, will it go further? REPORT: II HIV/AIDS: Unsolved Problem in Burma I. HIV/AIDS infecting rate increases in Burma Being faced with many difficulties such as low income extortion and other family crisis to survive, women leave home along with men to work in neighboring countries as migrant workers. Some young women were forced to work in sex industries while some of them have been ill-treated by their employers in the work place. Some families live together and work together in the same workplace, however, some of them are not lucky enough to work and live together due to different skill in work. As Thailand is where you can find sex industries or prostitute houses easily, this point encourages young people to become sex customers. Most of the young people that live in rural area have no sex experience before they got married, but the culture in totally change when they are in neighboring countries when they can find easy physical pleasure for. Men have more infects of HIV/AIDS than women because they go to prostitute houses. Women were infected from them especially after they got married. Comparing with other means of infection, sexual transmitting rate in more. They have a lack of knowledge on knowing about infecting manners and they stop using condom when they make sex, claiming inconvenience. According to statistics of the Mon State hospital , the rate of men infected with HIV/AIDS was over half than women infection. Some women HIV/AIDS patients were infected from their husbands, some of them are sex workers while some of them were suffered from rape and got infected. The Burmese regime cannot help in preventing the deadly disease effectively and cannot provide sufficient medicines and nutrition because the cycle of corruption and its officials do not commit to HIV/AIDS preventing process. The situation led to the fatal disease in widely spread through out the country. Fortunately, three main NGO groups; Save the Children, Care Myanmar and World Vision have actively done the preventing job by visiting village to village to do workshops, give lecture, education and jointed hands with many status and village base civil society organizations. The missions of the Save the Children are: preventing HIV or reducing HIV infected numbers and stop human trafficking, that is similar to the aim of SPDC controled Women Affair Committee. The target area of the organization activities are Mon State, Karen State, and Shan State (Northern part of Muse border town). As the area is close to the border, the group could save the people who were trafficked and sold to prostitute houses and the people who are in danger that neighboring countries will send them back to the area crossing the border through its office in the countries. The organization has also provided vocation works to the victims during their staying in its Safe House. For the women, it has provided training such as Sewing which is intend to not let them to go to work in the neighboring countries again. The organization has its branch office in Mon State capital, Mounlmen and its activities areas are peaceful HIV/AIDS discussed in the Youth Exchange 9

10 Dear Readers, Invitation for Feedback to Our Publication The Plight of Women and Children in Southern Burma With objectives to monitor the situation of women and children in southern part of Burma and to empower them with the rights described in CEDAW and CRC, which are both ratified by the current military regime in Burma, our Woman an Child Rights Project (Southern Burma) came into existence since Under this project, The Plight Newsletter is produced quarterly and this newsletter especially describe the general situation of women and children in Burma and how their human rights are violated by the ruling regime and its army. In a plan to evaluate our publication, we wish to get the FEEDBACK of our readers. Hence, you can kindly send your feedback. If you know anyone who would like to receive the newsletter or if you wish to send your feedback, please feel free to contact the following mailing and address. Woman and Child Rights Project P. O. Box 11, Ratchburana Post Office Bangkok, Thailand wcrpcontact@yahoo.com Website: With regards, Project Coordinator Woman and Child Rights Project - Southern Burma parts of Mon State where there is no civil war broke out, but not black area. According to one of its former staff, the rate of HIV/AIDS patients or infection rate has been getting three times more since four years in her township, Chaung Zone. At least, big villages have approximately 7-8 HIV/AIDS patients and small villages have 2-3. The young Mon Women who work in the health organization from 2001 to 2006 said that the infecting rate has been getting more and more. Some big villages in her township have between patients while some patients have been secretly treating themselves with traditional medicines in a secret location. The organization has started it mission since 1999 by joining hands with local Mon civil society s organizations and then it was recognized by SPDC only in August It appointed staff to implement the job in August The staff agree not to be involved in politics. II. Role of Civil Society in HIV/AIDS Prevention Save the Children s staff and volunteer workers joined hands with Mon Literature and Culture Committees, village headmen, and other kinds of civil society organizations to conduct discussion workshops on HIV/AIDS education. The agendas that they discussed are; ways of HIV/AIDS infection, ways of HIV/AIDS prevention, adult health reproduction, life skills, human trafficking and five points of child convention. On her village level, the organization asked the village authorities to organize to conduct workshops. They contact village based civil society to conduct the workshop when the village authorities are unwilling to do instead. The organization has information on male An AIDS patient 10

11 Activities International Women s Day celebrated on Thai-Burma border International Women s Day ceremony was held in Sangkhlaburi on March 10 initiated by Woman and Childs Rights Project (WCRP) supported by Women League of Burma (WLB). Over 60 representatives from various organizations Mon Women s Organization (MWO), Oversea Mon Women Organization (OMWO), Human Rights Foundation of Monland (HURFOM), Independent Mon News Agency (IMNA), Kao Wao News Group (KWG), Mon Unity League (MUL), Safe House, Karen Women Organization (KWO), Mon Youth Progressive Organization (MYPO), Woman and Childs Rights Project (WCRP), Mon Relief and Development Committee (MRDC), Mon Women Organization Sangkhlaburi (MWO Sangkhlaburi), and Mon Women Organization USA (MWO USA) attended ceremony. A member of the Woman and Child Rights Project (WCRP) Southern -Burma explained the history and significance of the International Women s Day. It was meant to create awareness that women were discriminated against and oppressed. The United Nation had recognized March 8 as the International Women s Day (IWD) to symbolize the struggle of women internationally. Let s implement a liberal and fair constitutional system. And try to find out how we can achieve unity among our ethnic women s groups, those who participated said. Now a day s men and women are on equal terms, so we should not discriminate in terms of position or standard, added a participant. Equal rights should be based on equality and fairness. Everyone should get equal opportunities in the community, said Nai Yeup from Mon Unity League. If we look at the current situation in Burma (Myanmar), women are absolutely not involved in movements because their leader is still imprisoned and not allowed to participate in political movements, he added. International Women s Day celebrated on Thai-Burma border The Women s League of Burma (WLB) released a statement urging inclusion of women rights Constituting Our Rights in Myanmar s Law and Constitution. In the future of Myanmar s federation, the WLB urged that women be allowed to participate in political movements and given equal rights. In the ceremony, they had riddle questions and answer session and they also gave a prize who can answer the riddle questions about the international day of violence against women, international Human rights day, and the leader of the Germany s name, etc The last of the ceremony the participants wrote down special messages for International Women s Day. 11

12 HIV/AIDS patients in the area from participants as a result. The staff went to visit the patients to discuss and talk to encouragement to not be depressed from the deadly disease. The patients have courage and their families understand the situation and do not discriminate in relationships. The HIV/ AIDS education programme made them more interested and they did not fear of transmittion after the discussion. The organization has a programme to send the victims back to their home town. The people who were sold and the people who were under depression of mental illness after being tortured in Thailand were visited by the staff even though they get to their home town and village. Up to the occation of far and short trip, the staff of the organization visited in monthly and trimonthly basis to encourage the patients. According to a volunteer of the organization, the organization can help or save over 70 victims to send them back to their home town from neighboring countries. She said that some mental patients run away when they saw the staff. The staff gave life skills to them and talked to them to have more courage. Some times they spent about one or two hours to give life skills lessons. The life skills are: The skill of noticing themselves The skill of decision making and dealing with problems The skill of social relationships The skill can judge and invention The skill to be passionate The skill to challenge depression and excitement. Due to the three main groups working in Burma, the people have more knowledge in education how to avoid HIV/ AIDS and how to serve social relationship with each other. Even though the NGO groups have been attempting to do in HIV/ AIDS prevention field, the SPDC regime does not care and uses the budget to spend in the military. The NGO organizations have faced difficulties in implementing jobs when bombs blast in the country. According to field staff of the organization, she needs permission from township authorities to go to field work, or she cannot go. She said that she must to go the village where she can cooperate with village authorities. MCWA- MNCWA- NGO- SPDC- WLB- MWO- CRC- Maternal and Child Welfare Association Myanmar National Committee for Women s Affairs Non Government Organization State Peace and Development Council Women s League of Burma Mon Women s Organization Convention on the Rights of the Child Save the Children has now faced difficulty in the country because its budget will end this year and now has been applying to SPDC to give permission it to work until The organization is not in sure condition whether it will be permitted to do its mission in the country where the expel many NGO organizations. Notification: Please look for the address change Woman and Child Rights Project (WCRP) P. O. Box 2237 General Post Office Bangkok 10501, Thailand wcrpcontact@yahoo.com Website: Printed Matter Address Correction Required 12